A Little Detour to Happily Ever After
by Enzeru no Yami
Summary: What would happen if before Lydia had a chance to run away from Brighton with Wickham something came between them? Would there still be a happily ever after for Elizabeth and Darcy? Finally completely reposted
1. Chapter 1

This is a little plot bunny that I've been messing around with in my head. What would happen if before Lydia had a chance to run away from Brighton with Wickham something came between them?

Well this story has already has been posted but I have received some requests that it be posted into shorter chapters and also I have a response to abyssgirl. I am very proud of this story, it is well written with a well developed plot. The fact that it is written without dialogue does not make it an outline but is a different style of writing that is more difficult than a story with dialogue. I am reposting this story not rewriting it as I'm sure that the rest of my fans would prefer for me to write new content for my other story than to rewrite a story that you are the only reviewer that has a problem with the style of writing.

-------------------------------------------

While Lydia Bennet was on her way to Brighton to fulfill her dream of flirting with as many officers as possible while hopefully returning with a husband for all of her sister's to be madly jealous over Mr. Darcy worked extensively in London to avoid coming home with a bride of the ton. It was a difficult feat for the incredibly wealthy and handsome young man but he was obsessed with finding the right bride … namely the only woman to turn him down for his arrogant and proud behavior. Elizabeth Bennet was beautiful, intelligent and independent enough that she always stood out in a crowd for the right reasons. She had claimed his attentions the moment he saw her walking in Meryton upon his arrival and she was fully capable of keeping his attention although he had a few very inconvenient setbacks that kept him from making the incredible woman his wife. The debacle at Rosings at least taught him the importance of giving the right impression to the friends and relations of the woman he wished to make his wife.

Unfortunately his only option for making a positive first impression was the only relations of Miss Elizabeth that lived in London and even with all his resources he could not find a single acquaintance that could introduce him to their family. He despaired of ever being able to make their acquaintance and thus have a few people that were willing to put in a good word for him with Elizabeth that would be sincere enough to make an impact on her opinion of him. But maybe there was another way …

Lydia Bennet was having the time of her life and was amazingly bored at the same time. Unlike she had believed before leaving Longbourn for the seaside the officers were actually dedicating a lot of their time to training. Leaving the poor girl to occupy her time with dinner, tea parties and shopping with the ladies from the region and the occasional spouse of a senior officer. Unlike when the officers were in Meryton parties were few and far between. There were not even the small gatherings for supper and cards that her aunt Philips used to throw every few days to amuse her while the officers were busy and she did not have enough money to spend to her heart's content without at least one officer supplementing her income with baubles and the little gifts that she was used to. Even more dreadful was the fact that the senior officer's wives often did not have time to lavish Lydia with attention!

As the youngest of the party she was almost treated like the unwanted child of the old General who was in charge of the camp. It wasn't in a good way either, she was either ignored or sent to fetch different materials for the older ladies to complete their embroideries or bonnets or whatever project they were working on. Some of the ladies even patched the uniforms of their officer husbands! Lydia found this absolutely deplorable; mending was servant's work. The wives of officers had much better things to do, like throw extravagant balls and shop for the latest fashions. Obviously they were all involved in some elaborate joke designed to lure her into a sort of boredom and then to surprise her with the parties that were the reality of being married to an officer that spent his days going to fight in glorious battles and defeat some evil villain out of a storybook before returning to his wife a rich man with stories that would make his wife swoon with joy.

All she had to do was find a husband and then return to Longbourn triumphantly to rule the house as the only married woman of all her sisters. Finally she'd get the respect and admiration of her father and all of her sisters as they were forced to defer to her the youngest of them all. That would show them, they would beg for her assistance to get husbands after she came home with a war hero. She just knew it. It had never occurred to her that upon her marriage she would be leaving the family home and then would spend the rest of her life following her penniless husband and working her fingers to the bone doing physical labor to manage her household without servants since a soldier without sufficient rank could not afford servants even to the level that Lydia was accustomed to at Longbourn.

------------------------------------------------------

Well there is chapter one of the reposted story. It might take the entire month of September but the whole story will be reposted. Please review I love to hear what my reviewers think of my ideas.


	2. Chapter 2

When Elizabeth's trip to the lake country was postponed by an imminent problem in London with one of Mr. Gardiner's investors Elizabeth had a few days to consider all that had happened over the past few weeks. She had returned to Longbourn after an intriguing trip to Rosings not only affected by the actions of Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins, that were almost comedic enough to be roles in one of Shakespeare's comedies, but also by Mr. Darcy confession about his actions that interfered with Jane's engagement to Mr. Bingley and that Mr. Wickham claimed ruined his fortunes and chances for a life as a clergyman of a wealthy parish. The days of relation silence without either the Gardner children or Lydia to break her attention she was able to think about how her own actions did not portray her in the best light and how she was finally able to understand how Mr. Darcy could get the wrong idea from her family from the actions that he was able to observe.

After all like Charlotte said, there was plenty of time to get to know each other after the marriage. Once the marriage was complete the truth often came out about what kind of life partner you had chosen and then you were unable to make a different decision. Mr. Darcy was only trying to protect his friend while she knew Jane was as incredible as she seemed. Without that history it would be quite likely that Elizabeth herself would run as far away as she could from her mother and younger sisters if she was a man looking for a wife.

Unfortunately since Mr. Bingley had left the neighborhood she would be unable to talk with Mr. Darcy and apologize for her harsh response to his proposal. He was only looking out for his friend, if Jane had been in the same situation Elizabeth would have done anything and everything in her power to keep Jane from entering into a marriage that would both shame her family and guarantee Jane a loveless marriage. Although Mr. Darcy had apologized in his letter he was not the only one that had behaved badly. If only there was something that Elizabeth could do so she could run into Mr. Darcy maybe they could try to get to know each other a little better. Not to mention that Mr. Darcy had given his word that he would reconcile Mr. Bingley and Jane's relationship. The two gentle people could easily fall back in love and live happily ever after. Elizabeth sighed as she watched the sun move across the sky as she sat on Ockham Mount by her favorite tree. There were so many things that she was now regretting and hopefully one day she would get the chance to resolve her regrets.

The business that had put off Mr. And Mrs. Gardiner's trip with Lizzy to Lake Country was not very unusual but it was a serious situation. One of his investors had pulled out of a new business venture that would provide enough money to expand his business and hopefully allow his family to move out of London and open another shop in the country where he could be closer to his sister Mrs. Bennett and her darling oldest daughters.

His nieces were so dear to him that he almost considered them to be his children and took great pleasure introducing them to his associates. They were good girls that always gave a good impression while they were in town and were excellent role models to his own children that he also loved with all his heart. This venture that he was involved in was in the trading of valuable gemstones from the new world. It was very expensive to start up but if the jewels that he had already been sent for his small investment was any indication it would be lucrative enough that he could run the trading business without having to raise his family in the dirty streets of London. He might also be able to hire someone to take the jewels and make them into extravagant jewelry for the upper classes to increase his profit margin even further.

None of these dreams could become reality however until he found a new investor and he didn't know where he was going to find someone who would have at least 5000 pounds to invest into his business. It was also a time sensitive deal. Where was he going to find a man that was able to invest that much money by the end of the week he wasn't sure. He was standing in his modest shop that imported wine and chocolates from the mainland when to his surprise an officer, a colonel specifically, stepped into his shop with a nobleman with a serious demeanor.


	3. Chapter 3

Lydia's behavior in Brighton was not going unnoticed by the officers. With their increased training schedule the soldiers did not have as much time to get some female companionship. She was just a slip of a girl that did not seem to have much sense and while she might be amusing for a while she didn't seem to be important enough to gather any true concern or consequences if any officer decided to give her a try. Of course that would be a little more difficult since it seemed that Lt. Wickham was circling the insolent little chit and probably would not be willing to give her up until she had ceased to be amusing to him.

The wives were also taking notice of her behavior but unlike the officers they were not amused. They did not enjoy their husbands looking at the insolent child as a possible afternoon distraction and several of them had sent messages to Colonel Forster through his wife that if he did not take immediate action to curtail the child's deplorable behavior that they would. This of course would have been hugely embarrassing for the Colonel. If he were not capable of choosing a proper companion for his wife while they were at camp then his training skills would also be called into question. After all it would not do for his majesties forces to be full of ruffians and cutthroats, even if it was mostly true since they were drawing their forces from poor families or second sons of rich influential families. Fortunately the ones who could afford better commissions kept themselves out of the tainted ranks of the unworthy soldiers who did the majority of the dying in the campaigns.

Mrs. Forster heard these reports and started to curtail Lydia's wanderings. The two women spent more and more time sea bathing out of the watchful eyes of the soldiers and when the soldiers were around Lydia was not allowed to leave the company of Mrs. Forster. This outraged the young girl enormously because it was the first time someone started to limit what she could do, everyone in Meryton could testify that Lydia did what she wanted to do when she wanted to do it.

To add insult to injury Mrs. Forster started to instruct Lydia how she should act when even the wives were around to give the impression that Mrs. Forster could manage her own household like her husband could successfully manage his troops. Lydia started to sneak out of the watchful eye of her host when coincidentally Lt. Wickham started to look for some female companionship for his long journey to town where he could hide until he came up with his next plan to find a rich heiress, marry her, and then spend the rest of his life gambling and having affairs with little girls who didn't know any better. It was the life of kings and by now he had definitely earned it with all of his past dealings with men like Fitzwilliam Darcy.

This chapter is quite short but it sets the scene for the next part which should be coming in a few days. Meanwhile I am back in the nest for a week or so to help with some renovations while I am between jobs … god I hate sawdust, hardwood floors, and I'm sure in a few days I'll hate grout as well.

Also I had quite the experience today while I was laying hardwood floors, the guy who was installing the cabinets and countertops asked my dad why I wasn't in school today… I graduated from high school six years ago and just got my Bachelor's degree in June. A bad haircut is the gift that keeps on giving … Please review.


	4. Chapter 4

Mr. Gardiner was speechless when Colonel Fitzwilliam and Fitzwilliam Darcy walked into his shop and proceeded to ask him about what kind of liquor he had on hand. They were looking for something that was just a little exotic and would make a nice addition to the collection of spirits that Darcy had at Pemberley for visiting friends and business acquaintances. When he could finally regain his voice Mr. Gardiner started showing the two men the different liquors he had imported from the mainland and some rare drinks from the new world. To show off some of the more exotic flavors he actually opened two different of the rare liquors for his possible customers to try.

They were quite impressed and the gentleman, Fitzwilliam Darcy, as he had introduced himself actually ordered a case of both liquors that he tried for delivery to his estate in Derbyshire. This realization that Mr. Darcy was from Pemberley actually led Mr. Gardiner to comment that he and his wife were planning a trip to Derbyshire with their niece Elizabeth. When Mr. Darcy asked for his niece's full name he was surprised to hear that Elizabeth Bennet was his niece and an invitation for the whole family was extended to stay at Pemberley for a few days when they were in the area.

To Mr. Darcy this was the opportunity that he had been wishing for and he was going to take full advantage of it. He increased his order of liquor to be delivered to Pemberley by ordering all of the wine for the visit that was going to occur at the end of the month when the Bingley's came to stay for a few weeks. The additional wine would be a definite bonus since Mr. Hurst tended to get cranky if he was not served large amounts of fine wine whenever he dined at someone else's table although the wine that was served at his own table when they were at home in London was mediocre at best. Also since Bingley was already in London it would be an excellent time to take a trip down to Netherfield to oversee the tenants a bit more.

Since Bingley had left earlier in the year the two tenants had left the property and new ones had to be found. At the same time it would be possible for Darcy to put Miss Bennet and Mr. Bingley together and to see if the separation had made them more or less fond of the other and thus keeping his promise to Elizabeth. Mr. Darcy was about to leave with his cousin when Mrs. Gardiner appeared from around the corner with a few loose gems in her hand that were of significant size. Her queries to the purpose of the stones, quieted as soon as she noticed the two men that were standing in the store. She was wondering if they could be set for a nice piece of jewelry for Elizabeth although in her heart she wanted to have them set for Elizabeth's wedding whenever the happy event would occur.

Mr. Darcy commented on the beautiful color of the light blue stones when he inquired about their origin Mr. Gardiner replied that they came from a new trade venture that was going into Africa but unfortunately it seemed that they would be the last ones that he was going to import since his investor fell out. It was a bit of an odd conversation to start with a man who knew your niece and actually invited you into his own home but Mr. Gardiner felt comfortable talking to the serious young man and his cousin.

When the offer came for Mr. Darcy himself to become the newest investor in the business Mr. Gardiner tried to refuse his assistance claiming that it was too much to expect that Mr. Darcy would invest so much money, almost ten thousand pounds, in a business that wasn't guaranteed to give a good return within the next year. Mr. Darcy insisted and as a compromise Darcy accepted the three large sapphires to defer the potential loss for his investment in the business.

Of course being the type of man that Darcy was he made Mr. And Mrs. Gardiner promise to keep his involvement in the business secret, they did not know that the reason for this stipulation was to keep Elizabeth Bennet in the dark when it came to the man who was coming to sweep her off her feet. With that complication sorted out it was then possible for the Gardiner's to head for Hertfordshire and to see their beloved niece. They did not know at the moment but Mr. Darcy had a similar idea and within the next twelve hours had convinced Mr. Bingley to accompany him to Hertfordshire. The difficult part was keeping Mr. Bingley's sisters from coming in the same carriage, Mr. Darcy did not want to chance her finding the gems he was going to have set in Meryton for a engagement gift for Elizabeth and also he wished to have a few smaller stones set into a delicate bracelet to give to Miss. Bennet as a forgiveness/wedding gift.

He feared what Miss. Bingley would say if she saw the stones in his possession because it was common knowledge that Miss. Bingley wanted her family linked to Mr. Darcy's in any way possible. If Miss. Bingley saw the gems it was possible she would assume that Mr. Darcy was finally going to ask for her hand in marriage. After successfully escaping the London ton Mr. Darcy was determined to make an offer to the only woman he had ever met who was not only after his fortune. Miss Elizabeth Bennet.

Mr. Darcy did not wish to give away his surprise to any of Elizabeth's relations so he did not ask Mr. Gardiner if there was a good goldsmith in Meryton and instead waited to ask Mr. Bingley's housekeeper for her confidential opinion. Of course in a small community this would have been an absolute disaster if he hadn't paid for her silence with a week's wages.

For part of the trip Colonel Fitzwilliam accompanied the merry party off to find love before he altered his route to go to Brighton because his General asked for an evaluation of the new soldiers and their integration into some of the existing units. He was also unofficially supposed to look into the excessive gambling that was occurring in the ranks.

There were rumors that some of the soldiers were racking up massive debts and damaging local establishments where they were stationed and the shop owners were starting to appeal to the government for assistance. This was making the commanders look incompetent because the claims tended to follow the movement of the newer troops. It was also starting to damage the reputation of the armed forces, these men were supposed to train to protect mother Britain and then die on foreign soil for those lofty goals. They were not supposed to behave as a drain on society, even if they did drink, gamble, and fight in bars in excess.

At the very least Colonel Fitzwilliam had been asked to find a few soldiers to make an example out of to make the rest of the soldiers fall in. The Colonel had already decided on his target of choice. Mr. George Wickham. The man thought he had escaped with trying to seduce Georgiana Darcy and steal her money while getting his revenge on the Darcy family for not giving half of the estate to a worthless young man who was given all the advantages but lacked the willingness or the drive to make himself a truly accomplished man in London society. George Wickham would be more useful than he could ever imagine to the greater good and it was always nice to get some nice neat public revenge against the scum of British society.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry this update took so long but I've been having problems in my personal life. No one should have to attend the funerals of three family members in less then three months. I've put up two chapters to make up for it and I hope you all enjoy and review!

----

Mr. And Mrs. Gardiner quickly gathered their belongings and their children to make a quick journey down to Hertfordshire and to keep their promise to their niece. Elizabeth had been looking forward to their trip and she was too good of a girl to complain about the time being shortened and postponed because of business. They barely had time to send an express to warn their niece of their imminent arrival before they set out.

Colonel Fitzwilliam arrived at Brighton shortly before Darcy and Bingley arrived at Netherfield. Colonel Fitzwilliam's first stop was at the house that had been rented by Colonel Forster where he was immediately invited to stay while he was conducting his official investigation. After doing a thorough investigation of the camp Colonel Fitzwilliam came to the conclusion that Colonel Forster was a good but unassuming man with a silly young wife to distract him from focusing fully on the discipline and training of his men. While he was amiable it was obvious that the man's ability to conduct anything but training drills was lacking and a new commander would be able to clear cut the worthless officers that were clogging up the camp. It was also obvious that the ringleaders of the bad apples understood that the Colonel was easily deceived and that as long as Mrs. Forster was happy there was nothing that they could do that would gain Colonel Forster's attention to their illegal actions.

Now Colonel Fitzwilliam could focus on the next big issue that plagued the training camp and she'd be flattered that she was taking up valuable time in the investigation. Lydia Bennet's, and you can be assured that he almost asked in a very ungentleman-like manner if she was adopted or not, actions proved to be a great distraction to the camp. Keeping in mind that this was after Mrs. Forster had imposed the sanctions on her it was incredible that such a woman could be related at all to Elizabeth Bennet. Lydia Bennet was obviously planning some sort of game that would undoubtedly create havoc among her family that she would probably see as a great joke.

The greater concern of course was the fact that she had gained the attention of Lt. Wickham and was probably going to be brought along for the ride when he finally could not get anymore credit from both his fellow officers and the shopkeepers in the area. This concern that Wickham would soon flee from Brighton destroying a young ladies reputation, that was already on the edge already, while he was at it. Believing that Darcy had a right to know about a possible scandal that could derail his courtship with Elizabeth Bennet, Colonel Fitzwilliam immediately wrote letters to Darcy and to Mr. Bennet. Hopefully these two letters would send enough help to be enough to control Lydia when the love of her life was arrested and sent to debtor's prison for all of his crimes against the population of Britain. Of course being the suave, debonair and responsible guardian that he was Colonel Fitzwilliam wouldn't let the opportunity escape to let Lt. Wickham know that his actions towards Georgiana Darcy would never be forgotten.

Mr. Darcy was getting ready for the day, he was hoping to get to see Elizabeth before her aunt and uncle arrived. Maybe he'd even be able to ask her to marry him so that he could return to Pemberley with his new bride before Christmas, a magical date that was a scant six months away. Mr. Bingley was similarly occupied since he wished to marry Jane Bennet as soon as he possibly could, although he was ignorant of the fact that he was present so Mr. Darcy would have the opportunity to commence his own suit.

Since Mr. Bingley was a forgiving sort of man he did not hold a grudge against Mr. Darcy for interrupting his unofficial courtship with Jane Bennet several months earlier and was pleased to have the opportunity to take up where he left off. Darcy and Bingley were about to leave the house to visit the Bennets when an express arrived from Brighton from Colonel Fitzwilliam. The letter was short and informative. It did not surprise Mr. Darcy since it told him that Lydia's actions at Brighton were deplorable and if not stopped immediately would have detrimental effects on the lives of the rest of the Bennet family. On a more minor note Darcy was pleased to learn that Lt. Wickham was soon to be arrested and thrown into debtors prison until he was able to pay off his official creditors whose bills ranged from a few hundred pounds each to almost a thousand pounds in Meryton and in Brighton.

Darcy quickly shared the letter with Mr. Bingley and the two men hurried down to Longbourn to warn Elizabeth of the actions that were about to take place in the far off town of Brighton. Another motive was to make sure that Mr. Bennet went in person to collect Lydia since she would be in a dangerous position whether or not Wickham was arrested immediately. It was impossible to tell what kind of things the young stupid girl would take if she was denied her 'heart's true desire' and Mr. Darcy did not want to waste any more valuable time putting the pieces of the Bennet family back together because of her immaturity.


	6. Chapter 6

Upon his arrival at Longbourn Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley could hear Mrs. Bennet's displeased screeches while the servants ran amok to gather the belongings that Mr. Bennet would need to bring Lydia home. The two gentlemen steeled their courage before entering the house because they did not wish to get between a very silly woman and the man that they needed to get permission from to court his two eldest daughters. One more voice joined the fray and that was of Miss Kitty Bennet who was very pleased that Lydia was going to be forced to return to Longbourn. After all it was not fair that Lydia got to stay in Brighton with the officers without her sister along for the ride. Kitty deserved to go and see the officers more than Lydia did since she was two years older.

The two eldest Bennet girls were in the front hall trying valiantly to stay out of the way while still mediating between their mother and father. Jane's face lit up as she noticed Mr. Bingley coming up the front walk and Elizabeth gently bit her lip as she considered that she now had the perfect opportunity to apologize to Mr. Darcy for her harsh speech at Rosings and to test out the waters and see if he still loved her. Mr. Bennet did something that he rarely did in his household **he raised his voice**. He ordered Mrs. Bennet back to her rooms until she could address him respectfully as the head of the household, then he ordered Kitty to one of the drawing rooms to work on some sort of project that would keep her occupied for a few hours and he shouted at Mary to practice the piano forte after he had left since the songs that she loved were giving him a headache.

He had just finished delivering his orders when he noticed that Jane and Elizabeth were staring out of the front door at Darcy and Bingley. He greeted the two gentlemen politely before informing them that he had an urgent errand to run and expected to return to Longbourn the next evening. He would have invited the two men in for tea but was stopped by the screeches of Mrs. Bennet when she realized that Mr. Bingley had returned to the neighborhood and would now be able to court Jane. Embarrassed by his wife's loud voice Mr. Bennet asked the two gentlemen to return in a few days after they were happily situated at Netherfield and then to join him hunting birds at the back of his property since it had been years since they had been thoroughly hunted.

Being true gentlemen Bingley and Darcy assured Mr. Bennet that they would be pleased to join him in his hunting trip within a few days and would call upon him when his urgent business out of town was concluded. Then Mr. Bennet jumped into his carriage that had been brought around from the stables and quickly rushed off to Brighton to recover his wayward daughter that was attempting to ruin the Bennet family name. Jane then recovered her wits and invited Darcy and Bingley inside for some tea that they enjoyed until another group of visitors arrived. The Gardiner family.

Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner were a bit confused at seeing Mr. Darcy having tea with their nieces but assumed that he was there as a chaperone for Jane and Mr. Bingley. They were about to gather Elizabeth's things to leave when Mrs. Bennet heard her brother's voice and started to wail to Mr. Gardiner about Mr. Bennet leaving to retrieve Lydia from Brighton for no reason. While Mr. Gardiner listened to his sister's wails of distress Mrs. Gardiner sat and talked with Jane and Elizabeth about the situation that was developing.

She sat in horror as Elizabeth described the letter that arrived from a Colonel Fitzwilliam whom she'd only met once at Rosings. He was the cousin of Mr. Darcy and had no obligation to the family except for a friendship with Elizabeth that had developed while they were both at Rosings Park holding court with Lady Catherine deBourg. Mrs. Gardiner was shocked that Lydia's actions were worse than she had ever imagined and to be reported from a person who was unrelated to the family was an embarrassing experience that no one should ever wish to experience again but all Mrs. Bennet could think about was getting her youngest child engaged before she returned home since she had all the tools that she needed to snare an officer.

Especially an officer like Mr. Wickham with his charm and good looks, it was only too bad that he did not have four or five thousand a year like her favorite child deserved. Mrs. Bennet's shrieks continued into the evening until one of the servants was able to return from the pharmacy with a sleeping drought that was slipped into her tea.

Mr. Gardiner apologized to Elizabeth as he announced that it would be impossible for the three of them to leave for their tour of the lake country because he did not feel comfortable leaving his children at Longbourn to witness the spectacle that would erupt when Lydia was returned to the house in shame. In fact they would leave to get rooms in Meryton to keep the children from being exposed to both Lydia's and Mrs. Bennet's behavior when they were reunited to mourn Lydia's cancelled trip. Elizabeth was absolutely devastated that she would be missing their trip because she was looking forward to traveling with her aunt and uncle.

The only benefit to staying in the neighborhood was the fact that Mr. Darcy was staying at Netherfield and they could finally have the private conversation that she had been hoping for since she left Rosings Park. After Mrs. Bennet fell asleep the Gardiners traveled to Meryton for the night and promised to return the next morning after they found someone to watch their children for them.

While traveling in the carriage Mr. Gardiner commented to Mrs. Gardiner how interesting it was that Mr. Darcy would be at Longbourn just a day or two after he'd come to their shop in London. This had to be more than a coincidence that the man would request to become a silent partner in their business and then be around their niece mere hours later. Maybe there was more to Mr. Darcy than they had first assumed since she was a young girl Mrs. Gardiner had dreamed of becoming acquainted with the family that lived at Pemberley. Maybe this was going to be her chance.

Elizabeth and Jane were preparing for bed when they started talking about the two gentlemen who had come for tea this afternoon while their mother was having a very loud, embarrassing fit. Although they both agreed that since the men did not run away when they heard their mother's shrieking that there was a chance that Jane would receive a marriage proposal very soon. Jane commented that Mr. Darcy was not very talkative while he was visiting.

Elizabeth responded that Mr. Darcy is a man of few words but he would probably say more as he started to feel more comfortable around them all. Her outlook on the man had very quickly changed after reading his letter at Rosings. He was a man who often took too much upon himself and was very loyal to his friends and family. She could only hope that he was still interested in making her part of his family. After all he was the only man that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with since he was able to keep up with her wit and was obviously not that afraid of her family since he did come back and bring his best friend with him. Charles Bingley's presence could only mean that Darcy had kept his promise and confessed everything. Mr. Darcy was definitely a man of his word, now the only problem was how she was going to get him alone to talk to him. Elizabeth went to bed with a smile on her face.

Darcy left in his carriage within an hour of leaving tea with the Bennets. His journey was quite quick because his horses were in great shape. It was late afternoon when he finally arrived in Brighton and rented a room in a local inn. He sent a message to Colonel Fitzwilliam who was staying in the home of Colonel Forster. Within an hour Colonel Fitzwilliam arrived at his room to discuss their plan of action. Colonel Fitzwilliam planned to arrest Lt. Wickham before dark because he feared that Wickham would do something stupid like try to run.

Wickham knew better than to stay in the area when he knew that Colonel Fitzwilliam was prowling around in the area. Colonel Forster had been informed that one of his officers, more specifically Lt. Wickham, was going to be arrested for criminal activity that Colonel Fitzwilliam had seen and been investigating while he was in Brighton. Colonel Forster's job was to make sure that Lydia Bennet didn't try to escape with Wickham before the arrest.

Colonel Forster doubted that Lydia was wild enough to attempt an elopement but Colonel Fitzwilliam told him that he was to be on his guard and if Lydia Bennet did manage to an escape to elope with Lt. Wickham that he would be held personally responsible and that it would be very difficult for him to retain his current command post. This veiled threat was enough that Colonel Forster placed two men outside of Lydia Bennet's window and after she had gone to bed had securely locked all of the doors to Miss Lydia's room. So during the night when Lydia tried to escape Colonel Forster caught her immediately when one of his men reported that Miss Bennet attempted to climb out the window upon her discovery that her door was locked. Colonel Forster then instructed her to pack because her father was going to be summoned to collect her immediately.

Where is Mr. Bennet you ask? Well his progress was halted at one of the smaller towns when one of the wheels on his carriage broke on a fairly deep pothole. The wheel was to be repaired during the evening but upon its completion it was much too dangerous to complete the journey without fears of getting attacked on the road. Mr. Bennet was very displeased by this unexpected set back and he feared that his lax treatment of his two youngest children would lead the family to a dismal future. He also realized that it was well past time for him to take his wife to task; she was not doing a good job at encouraging their daughters to behave properly both at home and at public assemblies.

They were determined to flirt with every man they met and get married very young to handsome young men. Only it was too bad they did not act in ways that would lead to marriage instead of random flirtations that would compromise their reputations until he would have to bribe men to marry his daughters through arranged marriages. To complete this feat he would have to reallocate funds that his wife usually spent on pretty clothes for herself and the girls and generally spend less money in town.

Mr. Bennet feared this particular conversation that was long overdue with his wife because he had never curtailed any of the girls spending before. Their allowances would have to be reduced and all money would have to come from him instead of through his wife, she would also have to be put on an allowance that would cover the entire household spending. It would not be a very pleasant task since she was already cross with him over his trip to recover Lydia before she allowed herself to be compromised by a poor soldier with few chances to make a decent living for a flighty little wife.

Lt. Wickham was quite the example; he was very charming, could definitely tell a good story, but his ability to afford a young wife was in doubt. He was not even in the regulars; the guarantee of a steady paycheck was not even present. It was Mr. Bennet's experience that young men who were employed in the militia did not make good husbands because they usually lacked ambition and ability to succeed in the armed forces. He contemplated his future while staring into the flames of the fire of his room.

The arrest of Mr. Wickham was anti-climatic when Colonel Fitzwilliam entered the tavern that Wickham was drinking in and told Wickham that he was under arrest and he could either come quietly or he could die where he stood. Wickham left the tavern quietly and proudly telling his fellow officers that it was all a mistake and he would deal with it before the night was over. Colonel Fitzwilliam leaned over to him and comment that Wickham was lucky that there were witnesses to who was arresting him since if they'd met in a dark alley only one of them would be leaving it alive for his sins. Wickham paled a little and said no more as they walked together to the town jail where Wickham would be staying until the investigation was complete and Wickham's debts could be tallied and he would travel to his new home at debtor's prison.

With the public debts that he had and with no connections willing to help him the chances of Wickham ever leaving the prison were very slim although there was always the chance that he could get someone else's relations to pay for his release but if that ever happened Mr. Darcy was ready and willing to make new allegations that Wickham had defrauded his estate and keep Wickham in prison until his death. Colonel Fitzwilliam announced to Colonel Forster that the investigation would be wrapped up in a day or so and that he would probably need to keep a closer eye on his officer's activities after hours especially when it came to getting credit from different shops in town. Colonel Fitzwilliam did not want to make an unfavorable report with regard to Colonel Forster's leadership skills but he would if this ever happened again.

Colonel Forster was so thankful that he would not lose his position that he told Colonel Fitzwilliam to call upon them whenever they were in the same town and Colonel Fitzwilliam would always have a seat at their table. With this happy turn of events there was nothing to keep Mr. Darcy occupied in Brighton so he called for his carriage to leave the following morning. After all he did not want Mr. Bennet to start asking questions like how Mr. Darcy happened to arrive in Brighton before him especially since Mr. Darcy had enough time to enjoy a lovely tea with Mr. Bingley and Mr. Bennet's two eldest daughters after Mr. Bennet himself left Longbourn. He spent the night in the inn and then at dawn the next morning he entered his carriage and began the journey back to Longbourn. After all by this time Bingley should have proposed to Miss Bennet giving Bingley an excellent reason to visit the Bennet's often. This had the added bonus of allowing him an excuse to accompany his friend as a chaperone until he managed to get up the courage to propose to Elizabeth Bennet.


	7. Chapter 7

Mr. Bennet got up early as well and even with his early start it was almost ten by the time his carriage slowly made it to Brighton. He dreaded having to collect Lydia; the tantrum she was about to throw would require a public response and humiliation that had been on the horizon for years. His inaction had almost created a situation that would have been impossible to recover from and a possible ruination of their entire family. His actions today would change his life forever and would also cause a very uncomfortable situation at home when Mrs. Bennet finally recovered from the news that Lydia had to be forcibly removed from Brighton.

After making a few inquiries Mr. Bennet arrived at Colonel Forster's house to a hysterical Lydia who could only scream that Lt. Wickham was going to marry her and everyone would be sorry when he came to sweep her off her feet. Mr. Bennet shouted as he entered the room in such an uncharacteristic display that Lydia stopped mid-rant with a shocked look to her father. Mr. Bennet demanded that Lydia pack her trunks and get in the carriage, and that her little visit was over. He added as she walked by him on her way to the carriage that she would never meet Lt. Wickham ever again and if she did not smarten up then she would spend the rest of her life in a nunnery where she'd be taught proper behavior.

Lydia started to weep loudly and embarrassing until her father slapped her smartly across the face. The silence that echoed in the townhouse was almost deafening and Lydia proceeded to the carriage quietly finally having some sense knocked into her for the first time in her life. Mr. Bennet stayed behind to talk with Colonel Forster and he learned that Lt. Wickham had been arrested for his outstanding debts the evening before and would not be coming to marry Lydia anytime soon. Colonel Forster also reported that Mr. Wickham had no opportunity to destroy Lydia's reputation and as long as she stayed away from Brighton she should be able to recover suitably well. Mr. Bennet was pleased to learn that Lt. Wickham would no longer be a problem but he was still embarrassed so he apologized for the actions of his wild child and told the Colonel that Lydia would no longer be accepting any invitations that were offered to her until she managed to show some decorum and then he left to take Lydia home to Longbourn.

Colonel Forster was just relieved that he would be able to retain his commission after all he did have a young bride to care for and it was very important to him to become a general one day. If Colonel Fitzwilliam had been able to prove that he could not even handle one young girl then it would be very difficult for him to make the proper connections and to achieve his goals in the future. He returned to the house and told his wife in no uncertain terms that her friendship with Lydia Bennet was not proper and would not be continued. His wife was never to contact Lydia again since it was too dangerous to associate with a young girl who did not behave appropriately.

In the carriage Lydia was met with total silence as her father tried to figure out his plan of attack. She had run wild for too long and now he'd have to deal with her before she tried to elope again with a lowly officer. God knows that her reputation was already having problems in Meryton with her shouting across streets to men she doesn't know and her constant badgering at dances and dinners was becoming embarrassing to her family. He decided to keep his plan simple, he told Lydia that she would need to drastically change her behavior or she would be sent off to a nunnery for the rest of her life. Lydia opened her mouth to protest when her father held up his hand to stop her.

He told her specifically that those were her only two options and that if she even tried to appeal to her mother for aide in countermanding his orders then she would be forbidden to leave the house even to go the Philips in Meryton until her 21st birthday. Her social life would be officially ended and she would probably never marry and end up in a nunnery anyway. Lydia's eyes filled up with tears and she hid her face in her hands as she turned away from her father and wept quietly in the carriage until they returned to Longbourn to Mrs. Bennet's loud screeching protests. Mr. Bennet surprised the whole family when he told Mrs. Bennet that her failure to teach their youngest daughters the value of propriety forced him to take the role of the primary parent in the household and neither of his two youngest daughters would travel to Meryton without him until their 18th birthdays or when he finally decided that they were responsible enough to travel without a chaperone.

They were also forbidden from attending any assemblies or parties given by the Philips unless he closely supervised them. Kitty also broke down in tears and ran up to her room to hide from her father until her mother finally prevailed against their father. The afternoon in the Bennet house finished very quiet since both of the youngest daughters were upstairs in their rooms and trying to stay out of their father's way. Mary it should be noted also contributed to the relation silence in the house. She went out to Meryton and bought a few books that she showed off at dinner to the dismay of Lydia and Kitty.

Elizabeth and Jane were basking in the new felt peace in the household and decided to celebrate by walking into Meryton every day and picking out some fabric for some new dresses that they could wear to Netherfield the next time they were invited for dinner by Miss. Bingley.

Miss Bingley's behavior had been a bit strange since the family returned to Netherfield, probably because of her treatment of Jane while she was in London. Thankfully for her Jane was of the gentle sort of temperament that she was willing to forgive slights given to her by the rude woman since she was Mr. Bingley's sister. Miss Bingley was fortunate if it had been Elizabeth Miss Bingley would never have been so lucky. Miss Bingley had been taking walks at late to Meryton to everyone's surprise since it was common knowledge that she preferred to take her brother's carriage everywhere.

She had also invited Elizabeth and Jane to Netherfield a total of four times since they returned from London barely a week earlier. For a woman that seemed to enjoy solitude in her home where she lacked the company of any women but her sister this was quite unusual. Before they left for London Jane had only visited the house when she got ill from riding in the rain and the Netherfield Ball. Elizabeth thought this was quite odd but then again Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy seemed to be visiting often as well. Maybe it was finally time for Mr. Bingley to ask for Jane's hand in marriage … but a woman could never tell even though Mama believed that this could be the only reason that the two men would have to visit the house.

She would have been talking about it constantly but she was still fighting with her husband to allow Lydia and Kitty to attend assemblies and the weekly parties given by Mrs. Philips but since Mr. Bennet refused to attend such frivolous gatherings Lydia and Kitty had barely stirred outside of the house, even to walk in the gardens. They were only permitted to walk in the gardens outside of the window in Mr. Bennet's study and this limitation infuriated Lydia so she refused to leave the house at all. She had resorted to asking Jane to pick her up a few bonnets and ribbons to decorate with but Jane refused to lend her more money than her reduced allowance gave for her spending. Lydia was not happy about the change of events but she feared her father's threat of keeping her in the house until her 21st birthday or sending her to a nunnery to speak out against him. She spent a lot of her time listening at doors to see if her mother was gaining any ground against the rules that her father had set forth.

Unfortunately for her Mr. Bennet decided to start ignoring his wife's irrational protests until she finally stopped being a horrendous role model for their youngest daughters. Even Mary had some problems socializing with people and he wanted to take her in hand and see if he could improve her behavior. Not to mention that he wouldn't love to find a better way to for her to express herself then the continuous playing and singing. Maybe he could send her to a school of sorts that would be better suited to her personality. Maybe such a trip would be helpful for her to find a good husband.

This would require some deep thought, she was not a young girl that would be attracted by the thought of marrying a redcoat nor did she seem inclined to enjoy parties that were the source of so many marriages in Meryton. Maybe a trip to London was in order … On another note it was probably time for him to have a conversation with Mr. Bingley about his intentions toward his eldest daughter, Mr. Darcy was also confusing him why would he accompany his friend to the home so many times. Mr. Darcy was a gentlemen farmer he must have been very busy but he seemed to spend a lot of time visiting his daughter. Oh well some men could be very confusing sometimes and with enough money a man could while away his time however he wished.


	8. Chapter 8

When Mr. Darcy returned to Netherfield he was met with a disorganized Charles Bingley of a sort Mr. Darcy had not seen since their first year at Cambridge together. Tomorrow was going to be the day and Mr. Bingley was going to ask for Jane's hand in marriage first thing in the morning. This pleased Mr. Darcy immensely because he was sure that it would open the door for his own proposal but first he wanted to test out the waters. He was not so much of a gentleman that he was willing to take a whole lot of disappointment. So he was taking the easy way out and sending in a messenger to test out the waters. His choice in messengers might seem a bit odd but his plan was too delicate to trust to just anyone. He chose one of his own relations who conveniently had an acquaintance with Miss Elizabeth Bennet. He just wished he wasn't so much of a coward to stay in the carriage while the meeting went on first thing tomorrow would decide his future.

The next morning Miss Jane Bennet was getting dressed slowly as was her custom when her mother burst into her room, which was a surprise in itself because her mother had been so focused on getting Lydia and Kitty out in society again so they could marry well that she had practically forgotten about her other two daughters. Her mother shouted about how Mr. Bingley was coming on horseback alone and that Jane must immediately dress so she was ready to meet him. Unfortunately their father was in the breakfast room so in protest Lydia wasn't coming out of her room and Kitty was staying as far out of the way as possible so that she didn't incur her father's displeasure by acting out while he was already in a ill mood because of the constant fights with their mother.

The proposal went as planned and Miss Jane Bennet was so pleased with the proposal that she said yes immediately and then after letting the fact sink in that she was engaged to Mr. Bingley for a few minutes while staring into her fiancée's eyes she then encouraged him to go and speak with her father who was now in his study with his morning coffee. Jane immediately shared her joy with her sister Elizabeth who was so pleased with her sister's happy state that had not been seen since before Mr. Bingley had left in late November last year. Mrs. Bennet then rushed into the room shrieking with happiness and then with displeasure as she was forced to wait for Mr. Bingley and Mr. Bennet to finish talking before Mr. Bennet could call for the carriage to take her into town so she could tell everyone about her daughter's engagement to a wealthy young man who has five thousand a year and a beautiful estate in Hertfordshire. While listening at the door she heard Mr. Bennet give his consent and then she backed away slightly so she could smile at Mr. Bingley before he left Longbourn to announce his engagement to his friends and relatives.

Miss Elizabeth Bennet had an interesting guest, she was still confused with how Lady Catherine deBourg got her address in Hertfordshire but it was a discussion that was finally over. Lady Catherine had come by and told her explicitly that Mr. Darcy was engaged to her daughter and that she had no hope of marrying him. She didn't deny that she wanted to marry him or that a proposal would be unwelcome. This enraged the great lady and she left the estate in quite the furious state. What Elizabeth didn't know was that Lady Catherine left the house and directly went to Mr. Darcy to tell that she didn't refuse not to agree to marry him and that he deserved someone who wouldn't just bow down to his every desire. The woman was perfectly stubborn and would keep him on his toes for the rest of his life.

She then got into her carriage and left for London where she was meeting her sister to do some dress shopping; after all she was practically Mr. Darcy's closest relation and had to be one of the best dressed women in the church when they wed. Her daughter Anne also needed a very expensive dress to attend the wedding in since her health had improved over the summer she was traveling more and would be well enough to attend the wedding. Lady Catherine also despite all appearances just wanted her nephew to be happy and she planned to give him a splendid gift for his wedding. She was planning on hiring one of the most expensive dress designers in London to make wedding dresses for the Bennet sisters and she was even paying the man and his staff to set up shop in a building in town so that it was very convenient for the sisters to enjoy their wedding gifts from Lady Catherine deBourg.

Mr. Darcy was elated by the report that Miss Elizabeth Bennet would be open to his proposal, since Mr. Bingley successfully proposed to Miss Jane Bennet and received consent from her father just this morning he'd had plenty of time to plan his method of attack. Mr. Bingley was in his carriage coming down the lane and together they would ask the Bennet sisters if they'd like to go for a walk to Meryton. While walking Mr. Darcy would ask for her hand in marriage and her answer would either make him the luckiest man in England or force him into a life of bachelorhood where he had to make do finding a good match for his sister and then spending the rest of his life hiding at Pemberley.

Also since he had paid the goldsmith in Meryton a generous fee for making the jewelry early he had a beautiful gold and sapphire bracelet to give to Miss Bennet as a celebration of her engagement to Mr. Bingley with him in the carriage. He also had the delicate gold and sapphire necklace with a few large diamonds in it that had been completely for his bride-to-be or his sister if the only woman he ever wanted to marry refused him. He may have been a confident man but being refused once was enough to make him want to avoid a second rejection. He held the necklace in his hands for a moment for strength and then he placed in back into the box beneath the seat and grabbed his hat before exiting the carriage to meet his friend Mr. Bingley.

The two gentlemen walked together to the door and knocked before being admitted into the house and leaving with the two eldest daughters to go on a nice walk to Meryton. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth hung back a bit so they could speak in private; Miss Bennet started the conversation by apologizing to Mr. Darcy about what she said at Rosings. He accepted her apology with an admission that he deserved all she said to him and that it was because of her that he was able to change himself into a better person. In fact he owed her an apology for his rudeness and interference in Jane and Bingley's romance it was none of his business and he should never have gotten involved. She accepted his apology and they walked in silence for a few minutes before he commented that Lady Catherine had spoken to him and had indeed spoken highly of her. In her shock Elizabeth could barely find the words that would express adequately what she was feeling. She commented that she believed that Lady Catherine was no longer fond of her because she would not give the lady the promises that the Lady desired. Mr. Darcy took a moment to laugh before he reassured her.

Lady Catherine was so pleased with her stubbornness and intelligence that she actually gave her consent for him to ask her a very important question. Elizabeth gasped as Mr. Darcy asked for her hand in marriage and almost felt faint as she accepted his proposal. The newly engaged couple continued to walk in silence to town and spent a few moments there looking at books until Jane and Mr. Bingley had finished being congratulated on their new engagement. On the way back to Longbourn to drop the ladies off Elizabeth asked when Mr. Darcy was going to ask her father for his consent. He mentioned that he planned to ask for her father's consent as soon as they arrived back at the house. He also asked her to stay close to the door because he was positive that her father would wish to know if she really wanted to marry him or if he'd even asked for her hand.

When they arrived at the house Mr. Darcy went directly to Mr. Bennet's study to speak with the man himself. He was unable to go directly into the room because of the fight that was concluding between Mr. And Mrs. Bennet. The scraps of conversation that he heard involved Mrs. Bennet screeches about allowing Lydia and Kitty to go to the Philips house for dinner and cards that evening and Mr. Bennet refusing to leave the house. He was determined not to allow Lydia and Kitty the opportunity to wear down his resolve. After all even though he only set the new rules a week ago he was worried that even giving them a bit of access to society this early in the process would do more harm than good. The girls had obviously shown that they could not handle being without supervision and he was unsure how much supervision he would be able to give them in society. On the other hand the reduced allowances that he was now giving them was curbing their urge to go outside and expose themselves in public.

Kitty was definitely taking to the changes better than Lydia was of course Lydia had always been the ringleader and much more wild while Kitty was just trying to keep up. Lydia was still refusing to leave her room unless she had to and all Mr. Bennet had to do at the moment was wait until her spirit broke. He finally told Mrs. Bennet that if she had just done her job from the beginning with their three youngest children then he would not have to step in and put the whole household on stricter rules and a strict budget. She looked scandalized and when she heard the knock on the door she went to the door to look for someone to support her cause and was surprised when Mr. Darcy was standing there asking for an audience with Mr. Bennet.

She was so surprised that when Mr. Bennet granted the audience she left the room without protest or without telling her husband that they would be discussing his accusations at another date. Mr. Bennet thanked Mr. Darcy for being the chaperone for Jane and Mr. Bingley while they were walking to Meryton and then he commented that he was surprised that Mr. Darcy was willing to spend his time as a chaperone. Mr. Darcy admitted that he did have an ulterior motive for accompanying Jane and Mr. Bingley and that was to ask Elizabeth for her hand in marriage. While Mr. Bennet was shocked by the man's forwardness Mr. Darcy continued by saying that he was madly in love with Elizabeth and nothing would make him happier than for Mr. Bennet to give his consent for their marriage. Mr. Bennet regained his voice and gave his consent for Mr. Darcy to marry Elizabeth as long as she came in and spoke to him herself. This was exactly what Mr. Darcy expected and he was quite pleased that Mr. Bennet cared so much about his daughter that even though a very wealthy man was asking for her hand in marriage that her happiness is the most important aspect in giving his consent. Mr. Darcy thanked him for his consent and agreed to send Elizabeth into the study.

When this action was completed Elizabeth stood in her father's study and tried not to blush as her father asked her if she did want to marry Mr. Darcy. When she told him that she was very honored by Mr. Darcy's proposal and wanted nothing more to be his wife Mr. Bennet looked at his favorite daughter and told her that her happiness was all that mattered to him. He took his little girl in his arms when a single tear of happiness rolled down her cheek he wiped it away with his handkerchief. Then he told her that she should probably go out to her fiancée and find the courage to tell her mother that she was getting married to one of the richest men in England, he enjoyed watching as her already pale skin lose a bit of color as she realized what she had just gotten herself into. She quickly left to rescue Mr. Darcy before her father came out himself to announce that now he had two daughters who were engaged, more specifically he wanted to see the look on his wife's face when she realized that Lizzy had made a more fortunate match then Jane did.

He even went so far to call all of his daughters to the drawing room for the announcement, he even allowed himself a bit of enjoyment by making his wife wait for his news. When all of his daughters arrived, Lydia took a bit of convincing since her spirit was not quite broken yet; Mr. Bennet made the announcement that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth were engaged to be married. Unfortunately he was so busy enjoying this moment that it was left to Mr. Darcy to leap forward and catch Mrs. Bennet as she slipped to the floor. Mr. Bennet then stepped forward and carried his wife to her room after offering his congratulations to the two happy couples. After a dose of her smelling salts and a quick cup of tea Mrs. Bennet was up and demanding the carriage so she could announce to the neighborhood about the match her new favorite daughter had made.

The shopkeepers in Meryton might not have thought that it was such a great match until the rumors started that Mr. Wickham had left large debts after all the shopkeepers in Meryton had finally been contacted by Colonel Fitzwilliam and asked to give an accounting of how much credit Mr. Wickham had been extended by them. They would later get together and come to the conclusion that between the shopkeepers of Brighton and of Meryton Mr. Wickham owed almost three thousand pounds of debt to different businesses. That was more money than any Lieutenant made in five years of active duty in the militia, not even a Lieutenant in the regulars made enough money to pay off of all the debts that Mr. Wickham had accumulated even in Meryton. This got the rest of the town talking and they realized that Mr. Wickham also owed money to taverns and inns for furniture broken and he also had quite the reputation for seducing the young daughters of the merchants in Meryton.

The attitude against Wickham became so venomous that on one of her very rare outings, almost two months after the engagements had been announced to the public, to Meryton to be fitting for her bridesmaid gown when Lydia made a comment about how Mr. Wickham was going to return to sweep her off her feet the dressmaker almost threw her out of her store. Mr. Wickham had taken advantage of her daughter and the dressmaker went as far as to tell Mr. Bennet that no one in Meryton wanted to hear that name again and that Lydia would no longer be welcome in her store if she ever mentioned the name again.

Mr. Bennet thanked her for her concern and told her that the man's name would never be mentioned again. After the fitting Mr. Bennet took Lydia aside and told her that Mr. Wickham's name would never be mentioned again and if it were mentioned again then Lydia would be sent to live in a nunnery for at least six months. Mr. Wickham left a significant amount of debt in Meryton and Brighton that if she did marry Mr. Wickham then she would never be able to travel to either of the towns ever again. He also mentioned that if that happened then the ability of her visiting so she could show off her husband and tell all of her sister's about married life would be impossible. Lydia's face fell and she was uncharacteristically quiet all the way back to Longbourn and Mr. Bennet finally knew that the time had finally come. He had finally broke Lydia's wild spirit and it would now be possible to allow her more access to society and hopefully to get her married. Although to make sure he would not extend her privileges until after the joint wedding in late November.

Meanwhile Mr. And Mrs. Gardiner were shocked to hear that Mr. Gardiner's new silent business partner was also going to be their nephew in a few months. Mr. Gardiner even went as far as to ask Mr. Darcy if that had been his plan all along when he first entered his shop earlier in the month. Mr. Darcy admitted that it was not his design until he realized who the couple that owned the shop were and then he felt comfortable investing a large amount of money in a business venture with such risk because he trusted that any relations of Elizabeth's would not cheat him and that they would also work as hard as they possibly could to make the venture a success. Mr. Gardiner thanked Mr. Darcy for his faith in his character and mentioned that they would have to plan a little tour of the lake country since the trip they planned with Elizabeth had been cancelled just a few weeks previous.

Mr. Darcy was very quick to offer to send a large carriage for the entire family and even offered that their children could stay at Pemberley during the vacation since he was sure that Georgiana would love to take care of some young children and he had an excellent staff that was very trustworthy and would be honored to watch the children while they were on vacation. Again Mr. Gardiner was shocked that a man that had a reputation of being cold and distant was willing to open his home to his future wife's relations before the marriage had even taken place and told Mr. Darcy that they would be honored to take up the invitation and would have to plan it for after the next shipment of jewels came in from Africa. Mr. Gardiner also asked his business partner; quietly of course since the Bennets were still unaware that Mr. Darcy was an investor, if he knew of any good goldsmiths in London so they could set the stones that were coming for sale to the higher end market.

Mr. Darcy immediately got the card of a goldsmith that he had experience with since his family had used them for decades. The goldsmith did excellent work and demanded top price and with this new venture supplying top quality and rare stones another partnership could be created on the sales end so Mr. Gardiner wouldn't be required to raise his young family in London. It was very possible that they would be able to buy a small estate in the future and keep the house on Grace Church Street for when they visited town on business. Mr. Gardiner demanded that Mr. Darcy tell everyone that he was now an investor in the business but Mr. Darcy told him that the last thing he wanted was to have Elizabeth's gratitude before the wedding. He would be pleased to tell her after they were married that he was engaged in some trade deals with her family members.

Another surprise that sent Mrs. Bennet into a very intense fit of nerves it was the arrival of a very expensive wedding dress designer to make the dresses for both Jane and Lizzy as a wedding gift from the amazing very wonderful Lady Catherine deBourg. It took a few sips of whiskey, which in itself showed how serious this was since Mrs. Bennet never took anything stronger than punch served at a ball or assembly, but Mrs. Bennet got back on her feet and order a carriage to go to Meryton and tell everyone that she met that her daughters were going to have the best wedding that Hertfordshire had ever seen. Mr. Bennet had once again started retreating to his study but he had very few things to worry about now since he had the household on a budget and his youngest girls were starting to behave like proper young ladies. In fact the house was so relaxed that the only person that raised their voices anymore was occasionally Mrs. Bennet and that was usually in joy since the past few months had been an occasion that was not likely to repeat itself.

In fact there was talk of the entire remaining family taking a trip to Brighton, after the officers had left of course, to spend between six and eight weeks renting a house and spending a lovely family vacation that was not possible when their daughters were out of control and spending way too much money on trinkets. Mr. Bennet was quite proud of his little family; his eldest two daughters had a beautiful wedding that was full of very wealthy people including several earls and some very influential people that came to witness the nuptials between a member of their family and a country girl that he would later learn had been praised to the skies by Lady Catherine deBourg and all of Darcy's relations were eager to meet the new Mistress of Pemberley and see who Mr. Darcy had chosen to spend the rest of his life with.

The family had started to despair of Darcy ever marrying and making them wait for Georgiana to finally marry so that there would be some children at Pemberley but they were very surprised and proud of Darcy for his choice in a wife. If Lady Catherine deBourg loved this little country girl with a very small dowry then obviously she was going to make their lives much more interesting. Both brides walked down the aisle wearing the sapphire jewelry that Darcy had custom made for them months earlier that he eventually gave to the women after he found the jewels in his carriage that he had forgotten in the excitement. After seeing the jewels Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner were shocked to see that Mr. Darcy had done what they had wished and had the jewels set for their niece's weddings as they had hoped but had never mentioned out loud. This was a question, that when they had spoken just after the engagement, that had never come up and it pleased the couple immensely although they did not expect Mr. Darcy to give the smaller of the sapphires to Jane in a beautifully crafted bracelet.

They were honored that he would give a gift to his future sister that was of such value but they assumed that a man as wealthy as Mr. Darcy was used to giving expensive gifts to the people that he cared about. They watched as their favorite nieces married to men of high standing that practically worshipped the ground they walked on and would do anything to make them happy. A lot of people were not sure how to understand why someone as vibrant as Elizabeth Bennet chose a man who, although wealthy, did not seem to have any intense emotion for Miss Bennet. Little did they know that Mr. Darcy was madly in love with Elizabeth he was just so used to hiding all of his feelings to keep away from giving the wrong impression to any of the woman of the ton. The mothers were as dangerous as the daughters because of the political influences they held over their husbands, Darcy had feared the day that the fathers would start pressuring him to marry one of their daughters.

Fortunately his marriage to Elizabeth had the alternative motive of getting rid of all of the pressure that he had been feeling over the past year as his wealth had increased drastically. This drastic increase was the two estate purchases a year that he had been making around England since there were many old families that had gotten deeply in debt. With some slight management the estates were starting to make a profit and he was investing the profit in new business ventures. These successful purchases were what allowed Mr. Darcy to invest ten thousand pounds at will in a future relations business.

Mr. Darcy stared at his bride as she said her vows; he had finally gotten everything that he had wanted. He had his bride, whom his sister adored and could look up to, and who he could spend the rest of his life with. Elizabeth looked over at her new husband as he took her arm and they left the Longbourn church for the long ride in the carriage to their London townhouse where they would stay for few days giving them enough time to purchase an entirely new wardrobe for Mrs. Darcy and for them to get used to the idea of being man and wife.

And as the story goes … they lived happily ever after.

Now you might all be wondering about my interpretation of Lady Catherine deBourg. Firstly it's not my interpretation in 1940 there was a movie made of Pride and Prejudice starring Lawrence Olivier that took this stance. To be honest this is the only part of that rendition that I liked because it did not even include a trip to Pemberley where I am convinced Elizabeth and Darcy finally admitted to themselves that they were in love. Now in my particular story they do not manage to meet at Pemberley but I couldn't have him as the agent of Lydia's salvation if he was so far away. Also there was no point for Elizabeth to travel to Pemberley if Darcy wasn't going to be there so as a result I had to skip that portion.

I hope you enjoyed this story it is something that I have been working on for several weeks and you will notice that there is no dialogue for the entirety of the story. When I tried to put in dialogue I was concerned about the difficulty of keeping everyone in character. So after 19 ½ pages I have completed my second story without dialogue.

Please R&R this is probably my greatest work so far. Keep in mind as well that I am working on a story called Wishful Thinking: The Baby in the Stargate SG-1 section and although I have updated in months I do have two chapters that are almost ready to be posted so it is just a matter of time.


End file.
